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Differences in spontaneous and drug-induced baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) have been attributed to its different operating ranges. The current study attempted to compare BRS estimates during cardiovascular steady-state and pharmacologically stimulation using an innovative algorithm for dynamic determination of baroreflex gain.

Orthostatic tolerance (OT) refers to the ability to maintain cardiovascular stability when upright, against the hydrostatic effects of gravity, and hence to maintain cerebral perfusion and prevent syncope (fainting). Various techniques are available to assess OT and the effects of gravitational stress upon the circulation, typically by reproducing a presyncopal event (near-fainting episode) in a controlled laboratory environment. The time and/or degree of stress required to provoke this response provides the measure of OT. Any technique used to determine OT should: enable distinction between patients with orthostatic intolerance (of various causes) and asymptomatic control subjects; be highly reproducible, enabling evaluation of therapeutic interventions; avoid invasive procedures, which are known to impair OT1.
In the late 1980s head-upright tilt testing was first utilized for diagnosing syncope2. Since then it has been used to assess OT in patients with syncope of unknown cause, as well as in healthy subjects to study postural cardiovascular reflexes2-6. Tilting protocols comprise three categories: passive tilt; passive tilt accompanied by pharmacological provocation; and passive tilt with combined lower body negative pressure (LBNP). However, the effects of tilt testing (and other orthostatic stress testing modalities) are often poorly reproducible, with low sensitivity and specificity to diagnose orthostatic intolerance7.
Typically, a passive tilt includes 20-60 min of orthostatic stress continued until the onset of presyncope in patients2-6. However, the main drawback of this procedure is its inability to invoke presyncope in all individuals undergoing the test, and corresponding low sensitivity8,9. Thus, different methods were explored to increase the orthostatic stress and improve sensitivity.
Pharmacological provocation has been used to increase the orthostatic challenge, for example using isoprenaline4,7,10,11 or sublingual nitrate12,13. However, the main drawback of these approaches are increases in sensitivity at the cost of unacceptable decreases in specificity10,14, with a high positive response rate immediately after administration15. Furthermore, invasive procedures associated with some pharmacological provocations greatly increase the false positive rate1.
Another approach is to combine passive tilt testing with LBNP, providing a stronger orthostatic stress without invasive procedures or drug side-effects, using the technique pioneered by Professor Roger Hainsworth in the 1990s16-18. This approach provokes presyncope in almost all subjects (allowing for symptom recognition in patients with syncope), while discriminating between patients with syncope and healthy controls, with a specificity of 92%, sensitivity of 85%, and repeatability of 1.1±0.6 min16,17. This allows not only diagnosis and pathophysiological assessment19-22, but also the evaluation of treatments for orthostatic intolerance due to its high repeatability23-30. For these reasons, we argue this should be the "gold standard" for orthostatic stress testing, and accordingly this will be the method described in this paper.

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An Experimental Platform to Study the Closed-loop Performance of Brain-machine Interfaces

Authors: Naveed Ejaz, Kris D. Peterson, Holger G. Krapp.

Institutions: Imperial College London.

The non-stationary nature and variability of neuronal signals is a fundamental problem in brain-machine interfacing. We developed a brain-machine interface to assess the robustness of different control-laws applied to a closed-loop image stabilization task. Taking advantage of the well-characterized fly visuomotor pathway we record the electrical activity from an identified, motion-sensitive neuron, H1, to control the yaw rotation of a two-wheeled robot. The robot is equipped with 2 high-speed video cameras providing visual motion input to a fly placed in front of 2 CRT computer monitors. The activity of the H1 neuron indicates the direction and relative speed of the robot's rotation. The neural activity is filtered and fed back into the steering system of the robot by means of proportional and proportional/adaptive control. Our goal is to test and optimize the performance of various control laws under closed-loop conditions for a broader application also in other brain machine interfaces.

Echocardiography is a widely accessible imaging modality that is commonly used to noninvasively characterize and quantify changes in cardiac structure and function. Ultrasonic assessments of cardiac tissue can include analyses of backscatter signal intensity within a given region of interest. Previously established techniques have relied predominantly on the integrated or mean value of backscatter signal intensities, which may be susceptible to variability from aliased data from low frame rates and time delays for algorithms based on cyclic variation. Herein, we describe an ultrasound-based imaging algorithm that extends from previous methods, can be applied to a single image frame and accounts for the full distribution of signal intensity values derived from a given myocardial sample. When applied to representative mouse and human imaging data, the algorithm distinguishes between subjects with and without exposure to chronic afterload resistance. The algorithm offers an enhanced surrogate measure of myocardial microstructure and can be performed using open-access image analysis software.

Disorders associated with dysfunction of autonomic nervous system are quite common yet frequently unrecognized. Quantitative autonomic testing can be invaluable tool for evaluation of these disorders, both in clinic and research. There are number of autonomic tests, however, only few were validated clinically or are quantitative. Here, fully quantitative and clinically validated protocol for testing of autonomic functions is presented. As a bare minimum the clinical autonomic laboratory should have a tilt table, ECG monitor, continuous noninvasive blood pressure monitor, respiratory monitor and a mean for evaluation of sudomotor domain. The software for recording and evaluation of autonomic tests is critical for correct evaluation of data. The presented protocol evaluates 3 major autonomic domains: cardiovagal, adrenergic and sudomotor. The tests include deep breathing, Valsalva maneuver, head-up tilt, and quantitative sudomotor axon test (QSART). The severity and distribution of dysautonomia is quantitated using Composite Autonomic Severity Scores (CASS). Detailed protocol is provided highlighting essential aspects of testing with emphasis on proper data acquisition, obtaining the relevant parameters and unbiased evaluation of autonomic signals. The normative data and CASS algorithm for interpretation of results are provided as well.

In this work, we present time-resolved measurements of atomic and diatomic spectra following laser-induced optical breakdown. A typical LIBS arrangement is used. Here we operate a Nd:YAG laser at a frequency of 10 Hz at the fundamental wavelength of 1,064 nm. The 14 nsec pulses with anenergy of 190 mJ/pulse are focused to a 50 µm spot size to generate a plasma from optical breakdown or laser ablation in air. The microplasma is imaged onto the entrance slit of a 0.6 m spectrometer, and spectra are recorded using an 1,800 grooves/mm grating an intensified linear diode array and optical multichannel analyzer (OMA) or an ICCD. Of interest are Stark-broadened atomic lines of the hydrogen Balmer series to infer electron density. We also elaborate on temperature measurements from diatomic emission spectra of aluminum monoxide (AlO), carbon (C2), cyanogen (CN), and titanium monoxide (TiO).
The experimental procedures include wavelength and sensitivity calibrations. Analysis of the recorded molecular spectra is accomplished by the fitting of data with tabulated line strengths. Furthermore, Monte-Carlo type simulations are performed to estimate the error margins. Time-resolved measurements are essential for the transient plasma commonly encountered in LIBS.

Studies of gene expression on the RNA and protein levels have long been used to explore biological processes underlying disease. More recently, genomics and proteomics have been complemented by comprehensive quantitative analysis of the metabolite pool present in biological systems. This strategy, termed metabolomics, strives to provide a global characterization of the small-molecule complement involved in metabolism. While the genome and the proteome define the tasks cells can perform, the metabolome is part of the actual phenotype. Among the methods currently used in metabolomics, spectroscopic techniques are of special interest because they allow one to simultaneously analyze a large number of metabolites without prior selection for specific biochemical pathways, thus enabling a broad unbiased approach. Here, an optimized experimental protocol for metabolomic analysis by high-resolution NMR spectroscopy is presented, which is the method of choice for efficient quantification of tissue metabolites. Important strengths of this method are (i) the use of crude extracts, without the need to purify the sample and/or separate metabolites; (ii) the intrinsically quantitative nature of NMR, permitting quantitation of all metabolites represented by an NMR spectrum with one reference compound only; and (iii) the nondestructive nature of NMR enabling repeated use of the same sample for multiple measurements. The dynamic range of metabolite concentrations that can be covered is considerable due to the linear response of NMR signals, although metabolites occurring at extremely low concentrations may be difficult to detect. For the least abundant compounds, the highly sensitive mass spectrometry method may be advantageous although this technique requires more intricate sample preparation and quantification procedures than NMR spectroscopy. We present here an NMR protocol adjusted to rat brain analysis; however, the same protocol can be applied to other tissues with minor modifications.

The dependence of some LIBS detection capabilities on lower pulse energies (<100 mJ) and timing parameters were examined using synthetic silicate samples. These samples were used as simulants for soil and contained minor and trace elements commonly found in soil at a wide range of concentrations. For this study, over 100 calibration curves were prepared using different pulse energies and timing parameters; detection limits and sensitivities were determined from the calibration curves. Plasma temperatures were also measured using Boltzmann plots for the various energies and the timing parameters tested. The electron density of the plasma was calculated using the full-width half maximum (FWHM) of the hydrogen line at 656.5 nm over the energies tested. Overall, the results indicate that the use of lower pulse energies and non-gated detection do not seriously compromise the analytical results. These results are very relevant to the design of field- and person-portable LIBS instruments.

Using Eye Movements to Evaluate the Cognitive Processes Involved in Text Comprehension

Authors: Gary E. Raney, Spencer J. Campbell, Joanna C. Bovee.

Institutions: University of Illinois at Chicago.

The present article describes how to use eye tracking methodologies to study the cognitive processes involved in text comprehension. Measuring eye movements during reading is one of the most precise methods for measuring moment-by-moment (online) processing demands during text comprehension. Cognitive processing demands are reflected by several aspects of eye movement behavior, such as fixation duration, number of fixations, and number of regressions (returning to prior parts of a text). Important properties of eye tracking equipment that researchers need to consider are described, including how frequently the eye position is measured (sampling rate), accuracy of determining eye position, how much head movement is allowed, and ease of use. Also described are properties of stimuli that influence eye movements that need to be controlled in studies of text comprehension, such as the position, frequency, and length of target words. Procedural recommendations related to preparing the participant, setting up and calibrating the equipment, and running a study are given. Representative results are presented to illustrate how data can be evaluated. Although the methodology is described in terms of reading comprehension, much of the information presented can be applied to any study in which participants read verbal stimuli.

Emission spectroscopy of laser-induced plasma was applied to elemental analysis of biological samples. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) performed on thin sections of rodent tissues: kidneys and tumor, allows the detection of inorganic elements such as (i) Na, Ca, Cu, Mg, P, and Fe, naturally present in the body and (ii) Si and Gd, detected after the injection of gadolinium-based nanoparticles. The animals were euthanized 1 to 24 hr after intravenous injection of particles. A two-dimensional scan of the sample, performed using a motorized micrometric 3D-stage, allowed the infrared laser beam exploring the surface with a lateral resolution less than 100 μm. Quantitative chemical images of Gd element inside the organ were obtained with sub-mM sensitivity. LIBS offers a simple and robust method to study the distribution of inorganic materials without any specific labeling. Moreover, the compatibility of the setup with standard optical microscopy emphasizes its potential to provide multiple images of the same biological tissue with different types of response: elemental, molecular, or cellular.

When considering human neuroimaging data, an appreciation of signal variability represents a fundamental innovation in the way we think about brain signal. Typically, researchers represent the brain's response as the mean across repeated experimental trials and disregard signal fluctuations over time as "noise". However, it is becoming clear that brain signal variability conveys meaningful functional information about neural network dynamics. This article describes the novel method of multiscale entropy (MSE) for quantifying brain signal variability. MSE may be particularly informative of neural network dynamics because it shows timescale dependence and sensitivity to linear and nonlinear dynamics in the data.

Institutions: University of California Riverside, University of California Riverside, University of California Riverside.

Close to two decades of research has established that astrocytes in situ and in vivo express numerous G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that can be stimulated by neuronally-released transmitter. However, the ability of astrocytic receptors to exhibit plasticity in response to changes in neuronal activity has received little attention. Here we describe a model system that can be used to globally scale up or down astrocytic group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in acute brain slices. Included are methods on how to prepare parasagittal hippocampal slices, construct chambers suitable for long-term slice incubation, bidirectionally manipulate neuronal action potential frequency, load astrocytes and astrocyte processes with fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, and measure changes in astrocytic Gq GPCR activity by recording spontaneous and evoked astrocyte Ca2+ events using confocal microscopy. In essence, a “calcium roadmap” is provided for how to measure plasticity of astrocytic Gq GPCRs. Applications of the technique for study of astrocytes are discussed. Having an understanding of how astrocytic receptor signaling is affected by changes in neuronal activity has important implications for both normal synaptic function as well as processes underlying neurological disorders and neurodegenerative disease.

Institutions: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

We describe an in vitro method to measure bladder smooth muscle contractility, and its use for investigating physiological and pharmacological properties of the smooth muscle as well as changes induced by pathology. This method provides critical information for understanding bladder function while overcoming major methodological difficulties encountered in in vivo experiments, such as surgical and pharmacological manipulations that affect stability and survival of the preparations, the use of human tissue, and/or the use of expensive chemicals. It also provides a way to investigate the properties of each bladder component (i.e. smooth muscle, mucosa, nerves) in healthy and pathological conditions.
The urinary bladder is removed from an anesthetized animal, placed in Krebs solution and cut into strips. Strips are placed into a chamber filled with warm Krebs solution. One end is attached to an isometric tension transducer to measure contraction force, the other end is attached to a fixed rod. Tissue is stimulated by directly adding compounds to the bath or by electric field stimulation electrodes that activate nerves, similar to triggering bladder contractions in vivo. We demonstrate the use of this method to evaluate spontaneous smooth muscle contractility during development and after an experimental spinal cord injury, the nature of neurotransmission (transmitters and receptors involved), factors involved in modulation of smooth muscle activity, the role of individual bladder components, and species and organ differences in response to pharmacological agents. Additionally, it could be used for investigating intracellular pathways involved in contraction and/or relaxation of the smooth muscle, drug structure-activity relationships and evaluation of transmitter release.
The in vitro smooth muscle contractility method has been used extensively for over 50 years, and has provided data that significantly contributed to our understanding of bladder function as well as to pharmaceutical development of compounds currently used clinically for bladder management.

Institutions: University of Montréal, McGill University, University of Minnesota.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulation technique that has been increasingly used over the past decade in the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as stroke and depression. Yet, the mechanisms underlying its ability to modulate brain excitability to improve clinical symptoms remains poorly understood 33. To help improve this understanding, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) can be used as it allows the in vivo quantification of brain metabolites such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in a region-specific manner 41. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that 1H-MRS is indeed a powerful means to better understand the effects of tDCS on neurotransmitter concentration 34. This article aims to describe the complete protocol for combining tDCS (NeuroConn MR compatible stimulator) with 1H-MRS at 3 T using a MEGA-PRESS sequence. We will describe the impact of a protocol that has shown great promise for the treatment of motor dysfunctions after stroke, which consists of bilateral stimulation of primary motor cortices 27,30,31. Methodological factors to consider and possible modifications to the protocol are also discussed.

The purpose of this report is to help develop an understanding of the effects caused by ion gradients across a biological membrane. Two aspects that influence a cell's membrane potential and which we address in these experiments are: (1) Ion concentration of K+ on the outside of the membrane, and (2) the permeability of the membrane to specific ions. The crayfish abdominal extensor muscles are in groupings with some being tonic (slow) and others phasic (fast) in their biochemical and physiological phenotypes, as well as in their structure; the motor neurons that innervate these muscles are correspondingly different in functional characteristics. We use these muscles as well as the superficial, tonic abdominal flexor muscle to demonstrate properties in synaptic transmission. In addition, we introduce a sensory-CNS-motor neuron-muscle circuit to demonstrate the effect of cuticular sensory stimulation as well as the influence of neuromodulators on certain aspects of the circuit. With the techniques obtained in this exercise, one can begin to answer many questions remaining in other experimental preparations as well as in physiological applications related to medicine and health. We have demonstrated the usefulness of model invertebrate preparations to address fundamental questions pertinent to all animals.

We demonstrate methods for the detection of architectural distortion in prior mammograms of interval-cancer cases based on analysis of the orientation of breast tissue patterns in mammograms. We hypothesize that architectural distortion modifies the normal orientation of breast tissue patterns in mammographic images before the formation of masses or tumors. In the initial steps of our methods, the oriented structures in a given mammogram are analyzed using Gabor filters and phase portraits to detect node-like sites of radiating or intersecting tissue patterns. Each detected site is then characterized using the node value, fractal dimension, and a measure of angular dispersion specifically designed to represent spiculating patterns associated with architectural distortion.
Our methods were tested with a database of 106 prior mammograms of 56 interval-cancer cases and 52 mammograms of 13 normal cases using the features developed for the characterization of architectural distortion, pattern classification via quadratic discriminant analysis, and validation with the leave-one-patient out procedure. According to the results of free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis, our methods have demonstrated the capability to detect architectural distortion in prior mammograms, taken 15 months (on the average) before clinical diagnosis of breast cancer, with a sensitivity of 80% at about five false positives per patient.

Institutions: University of Northern Colorado, Arizona State University, Iowa State University.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) demonstrate a technique that can be used to directly estimate the inertial properties of a below-knee prosthesis, and 2) contrast the effects of the proposed technique and that of using intact limb inertial properties on joint kinetic estimates during walking in unilateral, transtibial amputees. An oscillation and reaction board system was validated and shown to be reliable when measuring inertial properties of known geometrical solids. When direct measurements of inertial properties of the prosthesis were used in inverse dynamics modeling of the lower extremity compared with inertial estimates based on an intact shank and foot, joint kinetics at the hip and knee were significantly lower during the swing phase of walking. Differences in joint kinetics during stance, however, were smaller than those observed during swing. Therefore, researchers focusing on the swing phase of walking should consider the impact of prosthesis inertia property estimates on study outcomes. For stance, either one of the two inertial models investigated in our study would likely lead to similar outcomes with an inverse dynamics assessment.

Measuring Left Ventricular Pressure in Late Embryonic and Neonatal Mice

Authors: Victoria P. Le, Attila Kovacs, Jessica E. Wagenseil.

Institutions: Saint Louis University, Washington University School of Medicine.

Blood pressure increases significantly during embryonic and postnatal development in vertebrate animals. In the mouse, blood flow is first detectable around embryonic day (E) 8.51. Systolic left ventricular (LV) pressure is 2 mmHg at E9.5 and 11 mmHg at E14.52. At these mid-embryonic stages, the LV is clearly visible through the chest wall for invasive pressure measurements because the ribs and skin are not fully developed. Between E14.5 and birth (approximately E21) imaging methods must be used to view the LV. After birth, mean arterial pressure increases from 30 - 70 mmHg from postnatal day (P) 2 - 353. Beyond P20, arterial pressure can be measured with solid-state catheters (i.e. Millar or Scisense). Before P20, these catheters are too big for developing mouse arteries and arterial pressure must be measured with custom pulled plastic catheters attached to fluid-filled pressure transducers3 or glass micropipettes attached to servo null pressure transducers4.
Our recent work has shown that the greatest increase in blood pressure occurs during the late embryonic to early postnatal period in mice5-7. This large increase in blood pressure may influence smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotype in developing arteries and trigger important mechanotransduction events. In human disease, where the mechanical properties of developing arteries are compromised by defects in extracellular matrix proteins (i.e. Marfan's Syndrome8 and Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis9) the rapid changes in blood pressure during this period may contribute to disease phenotype and severity through alterations in mechanotransduction signals. Therefore, it is important to be able to measure blood pressure changes during late embryonic and neonatal periods in mouse models of human disease.
We describe a method for measuring LV pressure in late embryonic (E18) and early postnatal (P1 - 20) mice. A needle attached to a fluid-filled pressure transducer is inserted into the LV under ultrasound guidance. Care is taken to maintain normal cardiac function during the experimental protocol, especially for the embryonic mice. Representative data are presented and limitations of the protocol are discussed.

Institutions: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Charité University Medicine Berlin, The City College of The City University of New York, University of Michigan.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) has recently been developed as a noninvasive brain stimulation approach that increases the accuracy of current delivery to the brain by using arrays of smaller "high-definition" electrodes, instead of the larger pad-electrodes of conventional tDCS. Targeting is achieved by energizing electrodes placed in predetermined configurations. One of these is the 4x1-ring configuration. In this approach, a center ring electrode (anode or cathode) overlying the target cortical region is surrounded by four return electrodes, which help circumscribe the area of stimulation. Delivery of 4x1-ring HD-tDCS is capable of inducing significant neurophysiological and clinical effects in both healthy subjects and patients. Furthermore, its tolerability is supported by studies using intensities as high as 2.0 milliamperes for up to twenty minutes.
Even though 4x1 HD-tDCS is simple to perform, correct electrode positioning is important in order to accurately stimulate target cortical regions and exert its neuromodulatory effects. The use of electrodes and hardware that have specifically been tested for HD-tDCS is critical for safety and tolerability. Given that most published studies on 4x1 HD-tDCS have targeted the primary motor cortex (M1), particularly for pain-related outcomes, the purpose of this article is to systematically describe its use for M1 stimulation, as well as the considerations to be taken for safe and effective stimulation. However, the methods outlined here can be adapted for other HD-tDCS configurations and cortical targets.

A Radio-telemetric System to Monitor Cardiovascular Function in Rats with Spinal Cord Transection and Embryonic Neural Stem Cell Grafts

Authors: Shaoping Hou, Armin Blesch, Paul Lu.

Institutions: Drexel University College of Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Diego, CA, University of California, San Diego.

High thoracic or cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to cardiovascular dysfunction. To monitor cardiovascular parameters, we implanted a catheter connected to a radio transmitter into the femoral artery of rats that underwent a T4 spinal cord transection with or without grafting of embryonic brainstem-derived neural stem cells expressing green fluorescent protein. Compared to other methods such as cannula insertion or tail-cuff, telemetry is advantageous to continuously monitor blood pressure and heart rate in freely moving animals. It is also capable of long term multiple data acquisitions. In spinal cord injured rats, basal cardiovascular data under unrestrained condition and autonomic dysreflexia in response to colorectal distension were successfully recorded. In addition, cardiovascular parameters before and after SCI can be compared in the same rat if a transmitter is implanted before a spinal cord transection. One limitation of the described telemetry procedure is that implantation in the femoral artery may influence the blood supply to the ipsilateral hindlimb.

We describe experimental and statistical steps for creating dopamine movies of the brain from dynamic PET data. The movies represent minute-to-minute fluctuations of dopamine induced by smoking a cigarette. The smoker is imaged during a natural smoking experience while other possible confounding effects (such as head motion, expectation, novelty, or aversion to smoking repeatedly) are minimized.
We present the details of our unique analysis. Conventional methods for PET analysis estimate time-invariant kinetic model parameters which cannot capture short-term fluctuations in neurotransmitter release. Our analysis - yielding a dopamine movie - is based on our work with kinetic models and other decomposition techniques that allow for time-varying parameters 1-7. This aspect of the analysis - temporal-variation - is key to our work. Because our model is also linear in parameters, it is practical, computationally, to apply at the voxel level. The analysis technique is comprised of five main steps: pre-processing, modeling, statistical comparison, masking and visualization. Preprocessing is applied to the PET data with a unique 'HYPR' spatial filter 8 that reduces spatial noise but preserves critical temporal information. Modeling identifies the time-varying function that best describes the dopamine effect on 11C-raclopride uptake. The statistical step compares the fit of our (lp-ntPET) model 7 to a conventional model 9. Masking restricts treatment to those voxels best described by the new model. Visualization maps the dopamine function at each voxel to a color scale and produces a dopamine movie. Interim results and sample dopamine movies of cigarette smoking are presented.

In 2010 approximately 68,720 melanomas will be diagnosed in the US alone, with around 8,650 resulting in death 1. To date, the only effective treatment for melanoma remains surgical excision, therefore, the key to extended survival is early detection 2,3. Considering the large numbers of patients diagnosed every year and the limitations in accessing specialized care quickly, the development of objective in vivo diagnostic instruments to aid the diagnosis is essential. New techniques to detect skin cancer, especially non-invasive diagnostic tools, are being explored in numerous laboratories. Along with the surgical methods, techniques such as digital photography, dermoscopy, multispectral imaging systems (MelaFind), laser-based systems (confocal scanning laser microscopy, laser doppler perfusion imaging, optical coherence tomography), ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, are being tested. Each technique offers unique advantages and disadvantages, many of which pose a compromise between effectiveness and accuracy versus ease of use and cost considerations. Details about these techniques and comparisons are available in the literature 4.
Infrared (IR) imaging was shown to be a useful method to diagnose the signs of certain diseases by measuring the local skin temperature. There is a large body of evidence showing that disease or deviation from normal functioning are accompanied by changes of the temperature of the body, which again affect the temperature of the skin 5,6. Accurate data about the temperature of the human body and skin can provide a wealth of information on the processes responsible for heat generation and thermoregulation, in particular the deviation from normal conditions, often caused by disease. However, IR imaging has not been widely recognized in medicine due to the premature use of the technology 7,8 several decades ago, when temperature measurement accuracy and the spatial resolution were inadequate and sophisticated image processing tools were unavailable. This situation changed dramatically in the late 1990s-2000s. Advances in IR instrumentation, implementation of digital image processing algorithms and dynamic IR imaging, which enables scientists to analyze not only the spatial, but also the temporal thermal behavior of the skin 9, allowed breakthroughs in the field.
In our research, we explore the feasibility of IR imaging, combined with theoretical and experimental studies, as a cost effective, non-invasive, in vivo optical measurement technique for tumor detection, with emphasis on the screening and early detection of melanoma 10-13. In this study, we show data obtained in a patient study in which patients that possess a pigmented lesion with a clinical indication for biopsy are selected for imaging. We compared the difference in thermal responses between healthy and malignant tissue and compared our data with biopsy results. We concluded that the increased metabolic activity of the melanoma lesion can be detected by dynamic infrared imaging.

To understand the mechanism by which living cells sense mechanical forces, and how they respond and adapt to their environment, a new technology able to investigate cells behavior at sub-cellular level with high spatial and temporal resolution was developed. Thus, an atomic force microscope (AFM) was integrated with total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and fast-spinning disk (FSD) confocal microscopy. The integrated system is broadly applicable across a wide range of molecular dynamic studies in any adherent live cells, allowing direct optical imaging of cell responses to mechanical stimulation in real-time. Significant rearrangement of the actin filaments and focal adhesions was shown due to local mechanical stimulation at the apical cell surface that induced changes into the cellular structure throughout the cell body. These innovative techniques will provide new information for understanding live cell restructuring and dynamics in response to mechanical force. A detailed protocol and a representative data set that show live cell response to mechanical stimulation are presented.

Institutions: University of California, Irvine, University of California, Chapman University.

When an agonist activates a population of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), it elicits a signaling pathway that culminates in the response of the cell or tissue. This process can be analyzed at the level of a single receptor, a population of receptors, or a downstream response. Here we describe how to analyze the downstream response to obtain an estimate of the agonist affinity constant for the active state of single receptors.
Receptors behave as quantal switches that alternate between active and inactive states (Figure 1). The active state interacts with specific G proteins or other signaling partners. In the absence of ligands, the inactive state predominates. The binding of agonist increases the probability that the receptor will switch into the active state because its affinity constant for the active state (Kb) is much greater than that for the inactive state (Ka). The summation of the random outputs of all of the receptors in the population yields a constant level of receptor activation in time. The reciprocal of the concentration of agonist eliciting half-maximal receptor activation is equivalent to the observed affinity constant (Kobs), and the fraction of agonist-receptor complexes in the active state is defined as efficacy (ε) (Figure 2).
Methods for analyzing the downstream responses of GPCRs have been developed that enable the estimation of the Kobs and relative efficacy of an agonist 1,2. In this report, we show how to modify this analysis to estimate the agonist Kb value relative to that of another agonist. For assays that exhibit constitutive activity, we show how to estimate Kb in absolute units of M-1.
Our method of analyzing agonist concentration-response curves 3,4 consists of global nonlinear regression using the operational model 5. We describe a procedure using the software application, Prism (GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA). The analysis yields an estimate of the product of Kobs and a parameter proportional to efficacy (τ). The estimate of τKobs of one agonist, divided by that of another, is a relative measure of Kb (RAi) 6. For any receptor exhibiting constitutive activity, it is possible to estimate a parameter proportional to the efficacy of the free receptor complex (τsys). In this case, the Kb value of an agonist is equivalent to τKobs/τsys3.
Our method is useful for determining the selectivity of an agonist for receptor subtypes and for quantifying agonist-receptor signaling through different G proteins.

We use magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) to locate and determine the temporal evolution in brain areas involved in the processing of simple sensory stimuli. We will use somatosensory stimuli to locate the hand somatosensory areas, auditory stimuli to locate the auditory cortices, visual stimuli in four quadrants of the visual field to locate the early visual areas. These type of experiments are used for functional mapping in epileptic and brain tumor patients to locate eloquent cortices. In basic neuroscience similar experimental protocols are used to study the orchestration of cortical activity. The acquisition protocol includes quality assurance procedures, subject preparation for the combined MEG/EEG study, and acquisition of evoked-response data with somatosensory, auditory, and visual stimuli. We also demonstrate analysis of the data using the equivalent current dipole model and cortically-constrained minimum-norm estimates. Anatomical MRI data are employed in the analysis for visualization and for deriving boundaries of tissue boundaries for forward modeling and cortical location and orientation constraints for the minimum-norm estimates.

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